Caroline Aherne laid to rest in private funeral

July 20, 2016

Caroline Aherne private funeral. Credit: Daniel Deme / WENN

Caroline Aherne was laid to rest at a funeral in Manchester, England, on Thursday (14Jul16)

The comedienne and actress, best known for her role as Mrs Merton, an outspoken elderly woman turned chat show host, passed away at her home in Greater Manchester, England on 2 July (16) aged 52, after a battle with cancer.

The Irish British funny woman, who was born with a rare form of retina cancer, later received treatment for bladder cancer. And in 2014 announced she was battling lung cancer.

She was remembered by friends and family at a private ceremony which is reported to have taken place just a few mile away from her home in Timperley.

Television producer Jeff Pope wrote on Twitter: “The funeral today of one of our greatest working class heroes. The world is a poorer place for the loss of the incomparable Caroline Aherne.”

The funeral was a small, private occasion but a larger memorial is expected to take place in the near future, giving Caroline’s former co-stars and friends in the entertainment industry a chance to bid farewell to the star.

Caroline’s co-stars on The Royle Family, Ricky Tomlinson, Sue Johnston, and Ralf Little, offered up their tributes to the actress following her untimely passing.

Tomlinson, who played her father on the show, told the Sunday Mirror, “I’m so bl**dy shocked. She was absolutely wonderful and amazing to work for. Kind, funny, witty. A true professional and one of the most generous people I ever worked with.

“She never talked about her health, ever. I can never ever remember her complaining. She must have gone through a lot but I never saw her looking unwell.”

Sue Johnston, who played mother Barbara to Caroline’s character Denise in the show, made a brief statement to the media, saying simply, “I am devastated at her passing and I am numb with grief.”

And Ralf Little, who played her brother Antony, wrote on Twitter, “Sorry for silence – I just… don’t know what to say. What a sad, sad day. We’ve lost another one of our best. A character. A legend. A boss. A sister, real and (for me) fake. A boss. A writer. An actor. A genius. A friend. Big, big heart. Goodbye. X”